The present invention relates to process automation, and deals more particularly with automated packing and casing of goods.
In a build-to-order manufacturing environment, there are often orders for items that are available in more than one configuration—that is, in more than one size, weight, and/or dimension. A particular order may include many different items, each of which is available in multiple configurations. This complicates manufacturing processes such as the packaging operation, where a number of choices may be available for packing the order. Additionally, orders may be grouped into so-called “ship entities”, where multiple customer orders and/or items are cased together for shipment to the same location. Grouping orders into ship entities may be initiated by customer request or for convenience by the manufacturing facility (for example, to facilitate the shipping process). Rate reductions may also be available when orders are grouped into ship entities.